Hello, My Name is AJ……

AJ’s the name and Recycling is my game!!

I’m back.  A few days in the Twin Cities at a conference.  What a whirl wind!  It was great though, one of the best conferences I’ve been to….on so many levels.  It was a 2 day gig Wednesday were a few tours.  I got to sit in a “virtual tour” of the new Twins stadium to check out all their green initiatives.  It would have been better if it came with free tickets to the game (even though they lost), but it was still really neat.  Then it was a cruise through of the garbage incineration facility. I know….you are SO jealous.  After the first day of tours, we stayed overnight at the Sheraton and then had the formal portion of the conference the next day (which was really good too).  As previously mentioned, there was a Twins play off game that evening.  We ended up hanging out down in the hotel lounge to watch the game on the big screen.  Turns out, there was also a pipe fitters union having a conference in the same hotel.  So the place was packed with plumbers and spinkler fitters.  There were some really shit faced hilarious guys there!  They brought their guitars and harmonicas and were rockin out on the couches….Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, and a few originals.  There was one guy, “Vinny” that was so hammered.  I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.  He was 66 years old and hadn’t had an erection since 1985.  He also planned to switch teams when he was 80 just to see what it was like.  Seriously.  You read all of that correctly.  And these were things he offered up willingly and unprompted.  We were dying.

The best part of the evening (for me anyway) was that I didn’t have a drop to drink (aside from a ridiculous amount of water).  I mentioned my father passing away a few months ago, but haven’t really talked much about it since.  This is a lifting blog after all.  But the reality of the situation is that it has really changed my life, and the changes are surfacing in so many different ways.  The cause of death on my dad’s death certificate was cancer, but truly he died of alcoholism.  It really shook me, and really made me realize that I needed to stop messing around or I could end up the same way.  I stopped dead in my tracks that day and haven’t drank anything since.  It’s been 4 months now, and I’ve never felt better.  I was almost euphoric at this conference because of how good i felt. It is likely the first conference I’ve been to that I haven’t been at least slightly hung over during the meetings.  Do you have any idea how difficult it can be to listen to some one talk about peak Phosphorus while you’re choking back vomit and physically holding your eye lids open to try to stay wake.  Fairly hard to focus.  But not this time.  I was enthralled.  AND I got up at 5 to hit the gym before the meeting.  It’s moments like these, when you get extreme enjoyment about something that others take for granted, that you know you’re doing something right. 

Okay, on to lifting.  I’ve been on a bit of a roller coaster (give me a break, I’m a chick).  I had a crappy lift on Tuesday, but I take full credit for that one. I’ve been over it in my mind a few times now, and I just think I made a few tactical errors (I hope).  I also felt a lot of pressure for my squat workout on Thursday of this week. I was going to a foreign gym, I was going to early and I’m not a morning lifter, and it was the most weight I’d ever squatted for doubles.  But I set my alarm and hoped for the best. I woke up at 4:52 am (effing ridiculous), drank the magic, pink serum and was off to find anytime fitness.  I had my friend’s key fob with me, but of course it wouldn’t work.  So that left me flailing in the windows at 5 am hoping that some one would take a break from their zombie-like treadmill walking to let me in.  I got lucky.  Some poor kid who was busting out 95 lb squats in the back of the gym spotted me and let me in.  Then he went back to the squat rack….shit.  So I started stretching?  Uh…..I never stretch. I had no idea was I was doing. I’m sure I was still half asleep and looked like a complete fool.  The guy set down the barbell and walked away, surely thinking ‘why the hell did I let this whacko in here?’  But I warmed up (45, 135, 185…can’t believe I’m warming up with what used to be my max) and then cranked out my sets at 205.  Yep, I was really pleased.  I was on cloud 9 all day.

For today’s lift, I had to bench 3 sets of 1 at 145 with a pause.  I was nervous all over again.  I thought for sure I was going to be eating the bar.  I got warmed up and then grabbed some young hottie guy that was hanging out in the gym.   I gave him my long list of spotting instruction (no tea-bagging, don’t lift the bar up on the hand off or you’ll lift me up with it due to my midget arms, don’t help me unless I’m facing certain death) and then went after it.  Three reps, long pauses, no problem!!!!!!

And now….I’m off to enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  The bf and I are hitting up a BBQ with some of the gym folks, and I’m really excited.  It’s always nice to get to talk to people for more than a minute or two between sets!!

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